Cardiff – St. Fagans National Museum of History

St Fagans National Museum of History (/ˈfæɡənz/ FAG-ənz; Welsh: Sain Ffagan: Amgueddfa Werin Cymru), commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture, and architecture of the Welsh people. The museum is part of the broader network of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.

It consists of more than forty re-erected buildings from various locations in Wales. It is set on the grounds of St Fagans Castle, a Grade I-listed Elizabethan manor house in 2011 Which? magazine named the museum the United Kingdom’s favourite visitor attraction.

A six-year, £30-million revamp was completed in 2018, and the museum was named the Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2019.

History
The museum was founded in 1946 following the donation of the castle and lands by the Earl of Plymouth.[6] It opened its doors to the public in 1948 under the name of the Welsh Folk Museum. The museum’s name in Welsh (also meaning “Welsh Folk Museum”) has remained unchanged since that date. In contrast, the English title was revised to Museum of Welsh Life, thereafter St Fagans National History Museum, and again to its current title.

The brainchild of Iorwerth Peate, the museum was modelled on Skansen, the outdoor museum of vernacular Swedish architecture in Stockholm. Most structures re-erected in Skansen were built of wood and thus easily removed and reassembled. Still, a comparable museum in Wales was going to be more ambitious, as much of the vernacular architecture of Wales is made of masonry.

2017 refurbishment
A redeveloped main reception building was opened in July 2017.[8] The six-year, £30-million redevelopment of the site, which was funded by several sources, notably the Welsh Government and the National Lottery, was completed in October 2018.

The £30-million redevelopment project provided many benefits, including three new galleries showcasing Wales’ history, improvements to buildings such as the Iron Age farmstead, Bryn Eryr, and Medieval Prince’s Court and Llys Llywelyn, as well as a refurbished main entrance building and a new restaurant, play area and learning spaces.[11] One of the new buildings, the Gweithdy (‘workshop’), features Stone Age tools and stick chairs.

In June 2019, the Art Fund named St Fagans UK’s Museum of the Year 2019, which commended the facility’s “exceptional imagination, innovation and achievement”.